Army begins raising 5 Integrated Battle Groups along China Border

NEW DELHI: The Indian Army on Wednesday formally started raising five integrated battle groups (IBG) along the front with China.

The IBG’s are tasked to respond and strike at targets within 24 hours of getting orders. This is an upgrade over what is called ‘Cold Start Doctrine’, a military lexicon which came about post Operation Parakaram, launched in response to the Parliament attack 2001.

Each of the IBG’s will be headed by a Major General rank officer. Five Major General officers have been posted to take charge of each of the IBG’s marking a formal raising of the new outfit, sources said. The Government Sanction Letter for IBGs in the Mountain Strike Corps is dated July 1, meaning the raising, postings and other administrative processes can begin. The raisings are likely to be completed by mid-2027.

These IBG’s will be a part of the Mountain Strike Corps and be stationed in two north-eastern states – Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh – that share a boundary with China. A Fire Support Group, that has long range artillery guns and other firepower, will be the back-up for these agile IBG’s.

The Mountain Strike Corps has two divisions – one tasked to Ladakh and other to the North East. So far, the IBG’s being raised are in the North East, sources said.

An IBG integrates combat formation to make the forces faster, more flexible and self-sufficient. An IBG is designed to be a compact unit with infantry, armour, artillery, engineers, signals, air defence and logistics support under one commander. It is meant to react quickly to threats and operate with less dependence on larger formations.

Each IBG will have a strength of around 5,000 personnel, which would be larger than a brigade (3,000-3,500 troops) but smaller than a division (10,000-12,000 troops).

Former Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi had in January said that the government had approved the long-pending proposal for setting up IBGs, the first of which will come up in the Mountain Strike Corps. The creation of IBG’s is part of a series of steps to restructure the Army to make it leaner and more agile. An IBG along the Himalayas has different equipment, training and attack tactics than the forces operating in the plains.

The IBG’s will not require new raisings or inductions. Instead, they will involve integrating existing elements of infantry, tank regiments, artillery, UAVs, engineers and signals. A 2022 study on “Re-organisation and Rightsizing of the Indian Army” had reviewed operational structures to make them efficient and future-ready by taking into account the operational situation on western and northern borders. The IBG’s are part of this.